Crisis
by OAttackBlackO
Summary: Sage lives in the city named Silver where the Officials make the decisions. How they get Paired, when they get married, everything that happens around them. Everything is normal until one stormy, winter night when she discovers a horrifying reality of what happens. However, the question she's asking is, what really did happen?


Trees swayed in the distance, a tangle of black and brown. Winter was falling hard upon them, and Sage glanced sadly at their fireplace, roaring with flames. Never had they ever had such an depressing Christmas, even counting two years ago, when Jacob had sat on the couch shooting spitballs at her because his girlfriend had left due to a midnight sleepover with her friends. Now snow crashed down upon them meaninglessly, the dark sky a whirlwind of sullenness.

Wind howled outside the pane of glass an shuddered the door. Sage shivered as an icy blast knocked furiously, as if Anger himself had come to demand a Christmas present. She pulled a purple blanket tighter around her. Winter will have to end soon or else the hinges on the door would soon come apart and their house would drop to negative four degrees Fahrenheit. Goddamned winter.

Ryan, her younger brother, frowned when he looked at the window. "We've been stuck inside for days," he muttered, brushing his jet black hair out of his eyes. His eyes were as blue as the clear, summer sky. "Mason's probably playing that video game right now. I still can't get over the fact that _we_ don't have any of those on _our TV._ " Still scowling, he glared at the television as if it was its fault for not magically containing video games. Sage rolled her sapphire eyes. "We _do_ , you pinhead. You just beat them all, crashed it, punched it, or flushed it down the toilet like the time when you couldn't complete level sixty-four of Wizarding Rules an-" Ryan pinched her on her arm, causing a yelp. "It was not like that," he retorted. "It was completely unfair! I could almost _swear_ Queen Lennie has it rigged so no one can defeat that ass." Sage snickered. "You clogged the toilet too. When Jacob sat on it, he was almost caterwauled into the air."

Ryan glared at her through his sky colored eyes. His freckles across his nose was displayed like a constellation of stars and his ebony hair reminded Sage of night. She was also fully aware that he was taller than her now, despite him being almost sixteen and her, eighteen. "Jacob at least knows how to get to level seventy-two on Wizarding Rules and you can only get to _thirty-two._ " He threw his hands up, aghast. "Wizard Bone had the worst defense skills ever! He doesn't even have a f***ing wand!" He raised his eyebrows. "I told you to keep using hypnotize, but instead, you would press attack. Like seriously, you move your thumb over an inch!" Sage shrugged. She didn't play games with her being so busy during school and all, and definitely sucked at it. Orchestra teacher Ms. Nellie always gave her extra homework because of her outstanding sharps on her violin and the ability to play almost all of Beethoven's songs with memory.

Ryan huffed and stood up, brushing his black jeans and picking excess lint of his sweater. "I'll go see Jacob. He should have my algebra homework- I asked him to check it." There was a loud _thump_ upstairs as he said this and a head appeared, looking pleased. "No worries. A hundred and ten." Beaming, the muscular figure hopped downstairs and collapsed on a sofa. "Ryan's my boy." He rubbed the top of Ryan's head, leaving him disgruntled and annoyed as he flicked the hair out of his eyes again. "Don't do that." Apparently not hearing him, Jacob ranted on and on about how he gets straight marks all the way through high school. Sage's older brother represented nothing like Ryan except his blue eyes, which were a shade darker. His hair was a mix of dark dirty blonde and brown and he was as freckle-less as can be. When he smiled, dimples appeared, making him look older than he actually is. Sage herself was different altogether too. Her black hair with streaks of brown, that were barely visible, fell lightly to her waist and would fall over one eye just like Ryan's did. No freckles like Jacob, though her eyes were the complete opposite of Ryan's- a dark sapphire blue that glittered when she turned her head up to the sun.

This time, as Jacob was explaining his outstanding literature grades when a second _thump_ stormed upstairs and now a woman about the age of twenty or so stepped down, gazing at them warmly. Jacob looked annoyed as if she had just interrupted his wedding. The graceful girl bounced down lightly and stood with her hands by her side though not stiffly, and breathed a sigh of relief. "There you are, babe. I couldn't find you in your room so I started getting worried." She smiled brightly. "Well, we're getting married soon, aren't we?" Jacob rolled his eyes with obvious annoyance. "Mia, we have our wedding on November 14. That's approximately a whole year away." He muttered something that Sage couldn't quite catch. She fidgeted nervously. Ryan and her knew that Jacob didn't like Mia, his girlfriend, but nobody dared to criticize the Official. After all, they ruled the city of Silver and provided all the Pairs.

Mia's smile faded a little, and Sage felt a rush of sympathy toward her. Even if she could be annoying sometimes with her cheery attitude, she was always sort of a older sister to her in a way. The pretty woman had golden hair just below her breasts and had a pure, angel like feeling. Her eyes were sea green and shone whenever she laughed, and her slim body made her qualify in the Top Tens. Sage was part of the Top Tens too- second place just above Mia. Mia wasn't sour about this though, she acted like it was no big deal.

"Yes, babe, but it's getting closer every time your heart beats." She pranced over and gave him a small peck on the cheek and walked to the stairs, lightly bounding up and her steps faded away somewhere above the kitchen, telling them that she had settled herself in Jacob's room again. Sage sighed and tossed her crisp hair unintentionally, accidentally whipping Ryan on the back of his neck. Cold seeped through her bones and she relished the thought of spring, where the ruthless snows will melt and the bitter winds will cease. Flowers will come into bloom at last, pollen filling the air (making her get allergies,) and butterflies will flutter around (don't forget the mosquitoes- they sting like crazy,) but finally, winter will thaw until it makes its appearance (hopefully better than this time) again. Autumn already passed, and Sage saddened at the thought of her favorite season going to waste. They had been out of town for the three months visiting family members and eating multiple feasts. The turkey wasn't bad, but Sage really thought that she would've preferred spending time with Ram, her best friend.

Sleepovers with Adeline, which was her closest girlfriend, and watching movies with all three of them seemed like a great idea. Unfortunately, being the rich family they were, they had to travel out of Silver and drive to Willsburg Stone, the town that her cousins lived in. They were alike more or less. all with blue eyes of different shades and hair ranging from long to short, black to brown. Sage pulled out her phone, suppressing another sigh. Speaking of friends and cousins, she had received two texts from Ram and four from Adeline.

Ram's said:

 _Wanna come this Sat and meet at my house? We got movies._

The second:

 _How bout a sleepover with us two. Don't worry, we'll be on separate beds._

She blushed and rolled her eyes, typing back a quick message:

 _Sounds good._

The scrolling down to the bottom of Adeline's texts, she briefly scanned what gossip she had.

 _What's up girl? Ram asked me if u got his text for sleeping over at his house. He was so nervous while ft me, he totally loves u. Anyways, got new I-phone 8, u can come some time and look._

 _Can wait until winter break is over. School is gonna be so boring._

 _Pretty crappy winter, isn't it?_

 _Girl, has your fone died or something? Y u not txting me?_

Her fingers raced across her electronic keyboard, whipping up a message that said, _Sorry Ad. Too busy. Said yes to Ram's sleepover._ Just as she pressed _send_ , a loud crashing noises sounded, coming from Jacob's room. Ryan started and blinked, a bewildered expression upon his face. Jacob stood up, fuming in exasperation. "What is it _now?_ " He stormed upstairs, his footsteps echoing all the way to where they were sitting. Ryan scowled. "Hopefully she didn't damage his video games. I still didn't get through level eighty-five on Lifetime." Sage suppressed a smile. "She better not flush it down the toilet either." Ryan through a sock at her after swishing the hair out of his eyes.

There were hurried footsteps and a yelp as something heavy tumbled to the ground. Soft scratching noises followed by another grunt of surprise. Ryan twisted the necklace he always wore- a light blue crystal that matched his eyes. "I'll kill them if my headphones break. Those were eight hundred dollars plus tax." He started to knead the chain. "Mom and dad won't be pleased." Their parents had gone off into the center of the city to shop, even in the cold weather like this. They claimed that sales would decrease if customers made an effort to browse and buy their goods on a stormy day like this.

"It would probably be a little messy, that's all," Sage reassured him, braiding her hair. Ram had once said her hair was as soft as snow. She looked out the window at the gray clumps. _Preferably not that snow._ The trees were lashing against each other now and flurries kept falling, making it hard to see out. The wind was doing no favors. She released the small braid and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a scream. Ryan immediately shot out of his seat and bolted upstairs. "They've done something to my gaming consoles!" A moment later there was another scream, this time from Ryan. Sage sighed and got up, slowly walking up the steps. "If this is a joke..." Putting on a grim expression, she turned to Jacob's room and stepped inside. It was messy as usual, with his bed unmade and clothes scattered around the floor. A bookshelf had toppled over, spilling a blue liquid inside a globe and heaps of books. Desks were overturned and a lamp was broken but with an intact light bulb. She spotted a Wii and two controllers on a desk with two stacks of video games, all perfectly undamaged. She could spot nothing extraordinary except for the new messes.

"What is wrong with you two?" She spun around to them, and took in their shocked and fearful faces, looking at something on the ground. Turning her gaze on the spot, she took a moment to register what was in front of her, then stifled a scream. The carpet was bloody with a fresh tang around it. The beige had been turned to scarlet. Sage didn't know why she hadn't noticed it earlier. A corpse lay face up, staring at them with blank eyes. Eyes the color of the sea. Golden strands of fine hair combed neatly, bu didn't shine with its usual lust. The peach cream skin and elegant body. Mia had been killed.


End file.
